34 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



fulmars were flying backward and forward with a quiet, owl-like flight, and, 

 although the air was full of them, hardly one ever came over the top of the 

 cliff. 



Eggs. — The fulmar lays but one ^gg^ which is elliptical ovate or 

 elliptical oval in shape. The shell is rather rough or granulated and 

 quite lustreless. The color is dull, dirty white, usually immacu- 

 late, but often much nest-stained and sometimes partially or 

 wholly covered with very fine dots or sprinklings of reddish brown. 

 These dots look more like particles of soil or dirt lodged in the 

 pitted surface than actual color markings. The surface of the ^g'g 

 is often more or less covered with little nodules or small excrescences, 

 but in many cases it is quite smooth. 



The measurements of 77 eggs, in various collections, average 74 

 by 51 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 81.5 

 by 50.5, 72.5 by 54.1, 69 by 49.1, and 74.1 by 43.2 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation, which is performed by both 

 sexes, is said to be from 50 to 60 days. The young fulmar is care- 

 fully guarded by its parents and is fed on regurgitated food, con- 

 sisting of an amber-colored, oily fluid. The young bird is at first 

 covered with a thick coat of long, soft, white down, which is worn 

 until the bird is nearly fully grown. The first plumage, which is 

 fully acquired before the young bird leaves the nest, is similar to that 

 of the adult, in the white phase at least. 



Plumages. — Morris (1903) describes the immature plumage, pre- 

 sumably of the dark phase, as follows : 



The young in the second year have the tip of the bill yellowish, the remainder 

 greyish ; iris, pale dusky ; there is a dark spot before it. Head, crown, neck, 

 and nape, greyish brown, the edges of the feather paler; chin, throat, and 

 breast, pale greyish brown, the edges of the feathers lighter coloured ; back, 

 darker greyish brown, the edges of the feathers paler. Primaries, secondaries, 

 and tertiaries, greyish brown. Tail, greyish brown, the edges of the feathers 

 paler. Legs and toes, pale brownish or greyish yellow ; webs, pale brown. 



Mr. W. Eagle Clarke gives some interesting notes (1912) on the 

 juvenile plumage of FulTnarus g. glaciolis from specimens obtained 

 at St. Kilda. He states that the upper parts of the juvenile are of a 

 decidedly paler gray than in the adult and more uniform in tint, 

 while the head, neck and underparts of the juvenile are pure white 

 and silky in appearance, whereas in the adult these parts have a 

 yellowish hue. Mr. Clarke also mentions that in the adults some 

 feathers of the mantle and scapulars are edged with ashy brown, as 

 also are some of the wing coverts on their outer webs. A full descrip- 

 tion of the coloration of the bill and a few remarks on the pale and 

 dark forms are added. 



Food. — Much has been written about the feeding habits of the ful- 

 mar, which are interesting though not attractive. The following 



